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Distinct functions of integrin alpha and beta subunit cytoplasmic domains in cell spreading and formation of focal adhesions.
Integrin-mediated cell adhesion often results in cell spreading and the formation of focal adhesions. We exploited the capacity of recombinant human alpha IIb beta 3 integrin to endow heterologous cells with the ability to adhere and spread on fibrinogen to study the role of integrin cytoplasmic domains in initiation of cell spreading and focal adhesions. The same constructs were also used to analyze the role of the cytoplasmic domains in maintenance of the fidelity of the integrin repertoire at focal adhesions. Truncation mutants of the cytoplasmic domain of alpha IIb did not interfere with the ability of alpha IIb beta 3 to initiate cell spreading and form focal adhesions. Nevertheless, deletion of the alpha IIb cytoplasmic domain allowed indiscriminate recruitment of alpha IIb beta 3 to focal adhesions formed by other integrins. Truncation of the beta 3 subunit cytoplasmic domain abolished cell spreading mediated by alpha IIb beta 3 and also abrogated recruitment of alpha IIb beta 3 to focal adhesions. This truncation also dramatically impaired the ability of alpha IIb beta 3 to mediate the contraction of fibrin gels. In contrast, the beta 3 subunit cytoplasmic truncation did not reduce the fibrinogen binding affinity of alpha IIb beta 3. Thus, the integrin beta 3 subunit cytoplasmic domain is necessary and sufficient for initiation of cell spreading and focal adhesion formation. Further, the beta 3 cytoplasmic domain is required for the transmission of intracellular contractile forces to fibrin gels. The alpha subunit cytoplasmic domain maintains the fidelity of recruitment of the integrins to focal adhesions and thus regulates their repertoire of integrins
Space charge and charge trapping characteristics of cross-linked polyethylene subjected to ac electric stresses
This paper reports on the result of space charge evolution in cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) planar samples of approximately 220 ?m thick. The space charge measurement technique used in this study is the PEA method. There are two phases to this experiment. In the first phase, the samples were subjected to dc 30 kVdc/mm and ac (sinusoidal) electric stress level of 30 kVpk/mm at frequencies of 1 Hz, 10 Hz and 50 Hz ac. In addition, ac space charge under 30 kVrms/mm and 60 kVpk/mm electric stress at 50 Hz was also investigated. The volts off results showed that the amount of charge trapped in XLPE sample under dc electric stress is significantly bigger than samples under ac stress even when the applied ac stresses are substantially higher. The second phase of the experiment involves studying the dc space charge evolution in samples that were tested under ac stress during the first phase of the experiment. Ac ageing causes positive charge to become more dominant over negative charge. It was also discovered that ac ageing creates deeper traps, particularly for negative charge. This paper also gave a brief overview of the data processing methods used to analyse space charge under ac electric stress
Superconductivity from a long-range interaction: a crossover between the electron gas and the lattice model
We explore how the superconductivity arising from the on-site
electron-electron repulsion will change when the repulsion is changed to a
long-ranged, 1/r-like one by introducing an extended Hubbard model with the
repulsion extending to distant (12th) neighbors. With a simplified
fluctuation-exchange approximation, we have found for the square lattice that
(i) as the band filling becomes dilute enough, the charge susceptibility
becomes comparable with the spin susceptibility, where p and then s pairings
become dominant, in agreement with the result for the electron gas by Takada,
while (ii) the d-wave, which reflects the lattice structure, dominates well
away from the half filling. All these can be understood in terms of the spin
and charge structures along with the shape and size of the Fermi surface.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
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A point mutation of integrin beta 1 subunit blocks binding of alpha 5 beta 1 to fibronectin and invasin but not recruitment to adhesion plaques.
A point mutation in a highly conserved region of the beta 1 subunit, Asp130 to Ala (D130A) substitution, abrogates the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-dependent binding of alpha 5 beta 1 to fibronectin (FN) without disrupting gross structure or heterodimer assembly. The D130A mutation also interferes with binding to invasin, a ligand that lacks RGD sequence. In spite of the lack of detectable FN binding by alpha 5 beta 1(D130A), it was recruited to adhesion plaques formed on FN by endogenous hamster receptors. Thus, intact ligand binding function is not required for recruitment of alpha 5 beta 1 to adhesion plaques. Overexpression of beta 1(D130A) partially interfered with endogenous alpha 5 beta 1 function, thus defining a dominant negative beta 1 integrin mutation
Electronic Collective Modes and Superconductivity in Layered Conductors
A distinctive feature of layered conductors is the presence of low-energy
electronic collective modes of the conduction electrons. This affects the
dynamic screening properties of the Coulomb interaction in a layered material.
We study the consequences of the existence of these collective modes for
superconductivity. General equations for the superconducting order parameter
are derived within the strong-coupling phonon-plasmon scheme that account for
the screened Coulomb interaction. Specifically, we calculate the
superconducting critical temperature Tc taking into account the full
temperature, frequency and wave-vector dependence of the dielectric function.
We show that low-energy plasmons may contribute constructively to
superconductivity. Three classes of layered superconductors are discussed
within our model: metal-intercalated halide nitrides, layered organic materials
and high-Tc oxides. In particular, we demonstrate that the plasmon contribution
(electronic mechanism) is dominant in the first class of layered materials. The
theory shows that the description of so-called ``quasi-two-dimensional
superconductors'' cannot be reduced to a purely 2D model, as commonly assumed.
While the transport properties are strongly anisotropic, it remains essential
to take into account the screened interlayer Coulomb interaction to describe
the superconducting state of layered materials.Comment: Final version (minor changes) 14 pages, 6 figure
23Na NMR study of non-superconducting double-layer hydrate NaxCoO2.yH2O
We report 23Na NMR studies of the polycrystalline samples of double-layer
hydrated cobalt oxides NaxCoO2.yH2O (x ~ 0.35 and y ~ 1.3) with the
superconducting transition temperatures Tc < 1.8K and ~4.5K, and the dehydrated
NaxCoO2 (x ~ 0.35). The hyperfine field and the electric field gradient at the
Na sites in the non-hydrated Na0.7CoO2 and the dehydrated Na0.35CoO2 are found
to be significantly reduced by the hydration, which indicates a strong
shielding effect of the intercalated water molecules on the Na sites. The
temperature dependence of 23 Na nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/23T1 of
the non-superconducting double-layer hydrate NaxCoO2.yH2O is found to be
similar to that of the non-hydrated Na0.7CoO2, whose spin dynamics is
understood by A-type (intra-layer ferromagnetic and inter-layer
antiferromagnetic) spin fluctuations. The superconducting phase is located
close to the quantum critical point with the A-type magnetic instability.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
59Co Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Studies of Superconducting and Non-superconducting Bilayer Water Intercalated Sodium Cobalt Oxides NaxCoO2.yH2O
We report 59Co nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) studies of bilayer water
intercalated sodium cobalt oxides NaxCoO2.yH2O (BLH) with the superconducting
transition temperatures, 2 K < T_c <= 4.6 K, as well as a magnetic BLH sample
without superconductivity. We obtained a magnetic phase diagram of T_c and the
magnetic ordering temperature T_M against the peak frequency nu_3 59Co NQR
transition I_z = +- 5/2 +-7/2 and found a dome shape superconducting phase.
The 59Co NQR spectrum of the non-superconducting BLH shows a broadening below
T_M without the critical divergence of 1/T_1 and 1/T_2, suggesting an
unconventional magnetic ordering. The degree of the enhancement of 1/T_1T at
low temperatures increases with the increase of nu_3 though the optimal
nu_3~12.30 MHz. In the NaxCoO2.yH2O system, the optimal-T_c superconductivity
emerges close to the magnetic instability. T_c is suppressed near the phase
boundary at nu_3~12.50 MHz, which is not a conventional magnetic quantum
critical point.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
59Co-NMR Knight Shift of Superconducting Three-Layer NaxCoO2.yH2O
The superconducting state of NaxCoO2.yH2O with three CoO2 layers in a unit
cell has been studied by 59Co-NMR. The Knight shift measured for a peak of the
NMR spectra corresponding to the external magnetic field H along one of the
principal directions within the CoO2 plane, exhibits a rapid decrease with
decreasing temperature T below the superconducting transition temperature Tc,
indicating that the spin susceptibility is suppressed in the superconducting
phase, at least, for this field direction. Because differences of the
superconducting properties are rather small between this three-layer
NaxCoO2.yH2O and previously reported NaxCoO2.yH2O with two CoO2 layers within a
unit cell, the present result of the Knight shift studies indicates that the
Cooper pairs of the former system are in the singlet state as in the latter,
for which the spin susceptibility is suppressed for both directions of H
parallel and perpendicular to the CoO2 plane.Comment: 5 page
Spin polarization of light atoms in jellium: Detailed electronic structures
We revisit the problem of the spontaneous magnetization of an {\em sp}
impurity atom in a simple metal host. The main features of interest are: (i)
Formation of the spherical spin density/charge density wave around the
impurity; (ii) Considerable decrease in the size of the pseudoatom in the
spin-polarized state as compared with the paramagnetic one, and (iii) Relevance
of the electron affinity of the isolated atom to this spin polarization, which
is clarified by tracing the transformation of the pseudoatom into an isolated
negative ion in the low-density limit of the enveloping electron gas.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.
Superconductivity Phase Diagram of Na(x)CoO(2).1.3H(2)O
Although the microscopic origin of the superconductivity in high Tc copper
oxides remains the subject of active inquiry, several of their electronic
characteristics are well established as universal to all the known materials,
forming the experimental foundation that all theories must address. The most
fundamental of those characteristics is the dependence of the superconducting
transition temperature on the degree of electronic band filling. Since the
discovery of cuprate superconductivity in 1986 (1), the search for other
families of superconductors that might help shed light on the superconducting
mechanism of the cuprates has been of great interest. The recent report of
superconductivity near 4K in the triangular lattice, layered sodium cobalt
oxyhydrate, Na0.35CoO2.1.3H2O, is the best indication that superconductors
related to the cuprates may be found (2). Here we show that the superconducting
transition temperature of this compound displays the same kind of band-filling
behavior that is observed in the cuprates. Specifically, that the optimal
superconducting Tc occurs in a narrow range of band filling, and decreases for
both underdoped and overdoped materials, in dramatic analogy to the phase
diagram of the cuprate superconductors. Our results suggest that
characterization of the detailed electronic and magnetic behavior of these new
materials may help establish which of the many special characteristics of the
cuprates is fundamental to their high Tc superconductivity.Comment: revised, publication information adde
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